Sword Art Online - Ignite
by Akaiha08
Summary: In 2022, humanity has finally created a complete virtual environment. You'll be reading as Hayate, a 16 years old guy who got caught in the deadly trap called Sword Art Online. With only one objective: Protecting everyone, will he be able to face his fear of death?


**SAO - Ignite**

 **CHAPTER 1 - The Promise I Made**

\- Part 1

2022, October, 31 ; 08:36pm

Journalist: Now, we"re going to talk about Sword Art Online. The most expected game of the year is now close to its official release. Gamers around the world went crazy, once the online sales started. It will also be the very first MMORPG-Type game for the second generation of FullDive technology, the console: NerveGear. In this game, players have the experience of traveling to a whole different reality, where a giant castle with 100 floors, Aincrad, is their new world. But what makes it special, is the fact that there is no such thing as magic. Players can only use different types of weapons and their special skills.

Also, Knowing that Sword Art Online was created by Kayaba Akihiko, who is also the inventor of the NerveGear, the hype around this game is understandable. Everyone is expecting a game that uses every functionality of FullDive, making it enjoyable to play. But, such a unique device has brought lots of questions too, and today we"re gonna talk about the problems this type of technology can bring to the players all around the world.

Akane: Woahhh! So it"s finally here!

You: Hm, that"s what it looks like.

You and your family were having dinner together, as you always do. Akane ( your sister ), was looking at the television completely absorbed by what the journalist was talking.

Akane: You don"t look excited at all.

You: I still think that it"s a huge waste of money. Technology has been improving a lot but, instead of using it for things that are actually useful, they are spending tons of money with things like video-games.

Akane: Uhhhh you are boring.

You: And you are ignorant.

Akane: WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

You: Yeah yeah... Stop being so dramatic Akane.

Akane: Mom! Hayate is teasing me once again!

Your mom was having a great time laughing at your little show. This type of things got so usual that she didn"t care anymore. In the other hand, your dad looked furious.

Dad: Both of you, stop fighting. Akane, you"re already 14 years old, stop being so dramatic. Hayate, your sister did nothing wrong to you, you don"t need to be so rude.

You: Okay.

Akane: Hmph.

You: Sorry, Akane. I shouldn"t have been so rude. I should have been WORST.

Akane: _Almost Crying_ Why are you so mean?!

Dad: That"s enough. Hayate, go to your room.

You: Really? I am 16 years old. Are you really going to do that?

Dad: Now.

You: Aye aye...

You stood up while Akane was looking at you like if she were saying: «Got ya!». She was trying to make you mad, but it was not working. You were not the type of person who would get mad with such trivial things, and she knew that. For some reason, she was still trying.

As you were leaving the dining room, your mom"s face looked slightly sad. You realized that she was not liking the whole scene. Then, you remembered the promise you made two years ago. To the members of your family, promises were something you had to respect above all things. With this on your mind, you stopped in front of the door of your room. Walking back to the kitchen, you said:

You: ... I"m sorry. I promised I wouldn"t disappoint any of you again. I"m sorry Akane. You didn"t deserve that. As your older brother I should have been more responsible. So, I"m sorry.

Now it wasn"t just your mom. Even Akane"s victory smile turned into a sad look. They all remembered what made do such a promise. They all remembered the day when your younger brother died.

Akane: I- It"s okay... I don"t mind it, for real.

Mom: Thanks... Hayate.

You: Don"t worry about it.

 _You went to your room._

\- Part 2

2022, October, 31 ; 03:48am

 _You: Takashi, stop being immature!_

 _Takashi: Stop giving me orders! I"m tired of this!_

 _You: Where are you going?_

 _Takashi: You don"t need to know. After all, you don"t even consider me your brother._

 _You: ..._

(...)

 _You: Takashi?! TAKASHI! TAKASHI!_

(...)

 _Doctor: The injuries were worst than we thought. I"m sorry... He... He didn"t make it._

(...)

 _You: *Crying* Takashi... Please, forgive me._

 _Takashi: Why are you crying Hayate? After all, you don"t even consider me you R._

(...)

 _ **Wakes up**_

You: TAKASHI?!

You looked around and realized that you were laying on your bed, under the comfort of your blankets. Someone immediately rushed through your door.

Akane: Hayate?!

You: It... It was just a dream.

Akane: You are having that same dream again?

You: Yes but... It"s nothing important.

Akane: Hayate... You"re crying.

You hadn"t realize that tears were rolling down your face.

You: ... Takashi...

Akane hugged you for a while. It was not the first time she was doing this.

Akane: Good night Hayate.

You: Good night.

And she left your room, leaving you with your thoughts and regrets.

 **CHAPTER 2 - The Infection**

\- Part 1

2022, November, 6 ; 10:17am

One week went by. Everything kept the same, except for one thing. During that week, you didn"t tease Akane one single time.

 **~At Kendo Club~**

It was Sunday but you had to go to school as a member of Kendo club. ( Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art which uses bamboo swords. )

In the same club, there was Aoi. A childhood friend of yours that you considered your best friend. After an hour of practice, you got a short break, and that was when Aoi cam to talk with you.

Aoi: Oy! Do you know the news?! Finally that game is releasing! I can"t believe I got a copy!

You: Are you infected too?

Aoi: «Infected»?

You: Forget about it.

Aoi: Anyway, I can"t believe I will actually get to play with the NerveGear!

You: I still don"t know how is that even fun.

Aoi: Uh... Boring.

You: Stop. You look like my sister though.

Aoi: You mean, Akane?

You: That"s my only sister.

Aoi: I heard that she got a copy of the game too! Is she going to play it after school? If she is, maybe she could join me and my frie-

You: No way.

Aoi: Hey, don"t be such a-

You: Forget it.

Aoi: Tch.

You: After all, she"s going to play it with her club friends. She didn"t know but, apparently they got copies for all the club members too.

Aoi: That means that she has 2 copies?

You: Yeah.

Aoi: YOU SHOULD PLAY IT TOO!

You: Forget it. No way I"m gonna let that thing use my brain.

Aoi: Oh, come on dude! It would be so cool if you joined! I head you liked to play video-games a lot in the past! Mainly RPGs.

You: I did... With my brother.

Aoi slightly looked down, as his voice changed to a serious tone.

Aoi: It"s been 2 years already... You should let that go.

You: I know Aoi. I know.

With a desperate try to change the subject, he kept asking you to play.

Aoi: But... Dude!?

You: Even if I wanted to play, my sister is going to use both accounts. She even connected both of them.

Aoi: Connected?

You: Yeah. Apparently it"s a premium feature that allows you to connect two different accounts. This way even if she is playing with the club copy, all of the EXP will be going to her main account.

Aoi: Oh... I see. That means that...

You: If I tried to play I would be forced to play as a female character. And all the EXP would be shared with the other account.

Aoi: I can definitely imagine you playing with a female character...

You: Shut up! Now it"s time to go back to our training.

Aoi: Sure sure.

\- Part 2

2022, November, 6 ; 01:14pm

You got home from school. It was lunch time so you had to prepare the lunch for you and your sister because your parents were still at work.

Akane: I"m home!

You: Welcome.

Akame: Whew... I can"t wait to play that GAME!

You: You need to eat something first.

Akame: Pft, who needs food?

You: Hm... I"ve been noticing lately that- Oh, I shouldn"t say this to a lady.

Akane: What is it?

You: I can"t.

Akane: TELL ME!

You: Okay. You asked for it. I"ve been noticing that you are gaining some weight lately. Maybe you should really stop eating, don"t you think?

Akane: WHAT? REALLY?!

She started looking at her tummy to check if you were telling the truth. When she noticed that you weren"t, she looked mad.

You: *Laughing* Don"t worry sis, I will help you! Today, we"re only eating salad!

Akane: Stop it right now!

You: You were the one asking for it...

You kept laughing at her while she was starting to smile.

You: _Laughing_... Hm? Why are you smiling?

Akane: You didn"t tease me for a whole week... I was starting to think that ou were just ignoring me. This makes me happy.

You: O-Oh. I... I"m sorry Akane.

Akane: Nah, everything is okay now.

You: For real?

Akane: For real.

... But now, let"s eat! I"m starving.

You: Sure! Wait just a little bit more.

Akane: Yay! I"m eating Hayate"s food!

You: Say that again and the only thing you will eat will be your fork.

Akane: Hahah haha haaaa... You"re kidding, right?

 **CHAPTER 3 - Dear Diary**

\- Part 1

2022, November, 6 ; 02:27pm

Akane: So, I"ll be leaving now.

You: Huh? You have just finished your lunch... Where are you going?

Akane: I"ve told you already... I"m going to meet the members of my club. We"re all going to play SAO together.

You: SAO?

Akane: Sword Art Online dummie.

You: O-Oh.

Akane: You should try it too Hayate... My NerveGear and my copy of the game are on my room. If you get interested, feel free to play it for a while.

You: But, you connected both accounts, right?

Akane: Mmm yeah. But, who cares if you"re using a female character?

You: I do.

Akane: Tch, stop being like that.

You: Okay, okay...

Akane: Well...

She goes outside and looks at you with a smile.

Akane: See you later!

You: Goodbye sis.

And she left. Now, you were totally alone in your house. If that was a day like the others, you would just lay on your bed and sleep the whole afternoon. But, that day was not like the others. Little did you know, that your life was going to change forever in that same day.

You decided to watch some TV, but in every single channel the topic was the same. Sword Art Online and NerveGear. People defending it, people attacking it, people totally indifferent about the subject.

You: The game better be good or many people will be disappointed.

Only a few seconds later, you received a notification.

You: It"s a message...

« Akane: I am going to play now! I"m so nervous but so excited! (^-^) »

Let"see...

« You: Make sure you don"t forget to log out sleepyhead. If you"re not here in time, I will eat all the dinner by myself. :-P »

You: This should do it.

You put your phone in your pocket once again and then you, finally, lay on your bed.

It was your favourite part of the day. There was no one to disturb you, and no worries to keep you awake. At least, that was what you wanted. Some minutes later you received another notification.

You: Uhhh, not now!

« Aoi: Hey dude! We"re going to test SAO now... Would you like to come? =d »

You: Oh, this is easy.

«No.»

You: There you go.

It didn"t took too much to receive a reply.

« Aoi: Oww come on! I know you wanna try it! You can"t lie to me! Pretty please! Just a little bit... »

You: You don"t understand Aoi... I can"t play video-games anymore.

« I... I"ll think about it. »

« Aoi: That"s not a NO, so, I"ll take it!

Anyway, I have to go now. My friends are waiting for me. Cya. »

«Have fun.»

Once you sent this message, you laid down once again. It was time to rest from your exhaustive school day.

\- Part 2

2022, November, 6 ; 03:39pm

You: O-Ouch... My back hurts...

Apparently, while you were asleep you managed to fall from your bed. Somehow, you didn"t wake up, but the pain was there once your brain was fully functional.

You: Thank god Akane is not here, she would laugh at me...

Speaking of her... I wonder how she is doing in the game.

Akane was in a video-game club, but she was not used to RPG games. Strategy based games were her favourites, but she looked so excited about «SAO» that you started to doubt it.

You: I remember the day when I taught her how to start in a RPG... I hope she remembers it...

Before the incident, you were a fan of RPG games. They were your favourites, and you had spent a huge amount of time in various games.

You: Hm... I think it won"t hurt if I just check the synopsis of the game.

You head to your sister"s room in order to see the box where the game was.

 _You´re in front of Akane´s room._

You: Hm... I hope I don"t find any weird stuff inside this door. _Sigh._

And you opened the door. It"s been a while since the last time you have been there. It was so... Clean and... Organized. The complete opposite of your sister"s personality.

You: Where did she put it...

Looking for the game, you accidentally touched a book that immediately fell on the ground. It was suspiciously hidden, and that intrigued you.

You: Dammit!

 _Relief sigh_ Hopefully it"s just a book...

It looked like a strange book. No title, no colour... It looked more like a notebook.

You: What is this?

 _2020, December, 3 ; 7:46am_

 _Dear Diary..._

 _They are finally here... Christmas holidays! :D_

 _I really can"t wait! This is my favourite part of the year!_

 _2020, December, 24_

You: W-What? This was the day when...

You kept reading that page, even though you already knew what you were just about to read.

 _2020, December, 24 ; 08:37am_

 _Dear Diary..._

 _Today is finally Christmas eve! ^-^_

 _I"ve been waiting for this day for a long time now... The day when our whole family comes together and celebrate. The day when I can see everyone smiling... I simply can"t wait! 3_

You: Akane...

 _2020, December, 24 ; 01:39pm_

 _Dear Diary..._

 _Hayate and Taki ( Takashi likes when I call him like that ) have been pretty hostile with each other lately... Dad is always nervous with them because of that as Mom is starting to show some sadness..._

 _If only I could make those two understand each other... :-/_

 _Well, Dad sent them to buy some things for tonight. I think that they are going to become closer. Something is telling me that today is gonna be a special day! =)_

As you were reading, tears started to fill your face... The «book» you were looking at, was Akane"s diary. Her thoughts and feelings were represented in a piece of paper, and that was right in front of you. You knew it was wrong, but you couldn"t stop reading it...

 _2020, December, 24 ; 02:17pm_

 _Dear Diary..._

 _They have just left._

 _Unfortunately they were still «fighting» each other, but I guess everything will be okay. Hayate can be a little bit annoying sometimes, but he does not do that on purpose. I know that he loves us in his own way. In the other hand, Taki can be a little impulsive, but I know he loves Hayate too. :-P_

 _After all, our family was always very united._

 _And I want it to continue like that forever! :-)_

You: _Still crying_ This is the last thing she wrote in this day...

You kept turning page after page. But there were only blank pages.

You: She stopped writing after that day... I...

Finally, you found one paragraph on the last page. It was written in a different collour, and the calligraphy had changed too. It was almost like if someone else had written it,

 _2021, December, 24 ; 11:54pm_

 _My Dear Diary..._

 _It"s been a while since the last time I have written here. Did you miss me? Because I missed you a lot..._

 _You know... A lot of things happened in this time I was away._

 _Do you remember my wish?_

 _«I want my family to continue united... Forever!»_

 _Do you... Remember these words Dear Diary?_

 _I do. I always remember them... Every night._

 _Unfortunately, that"s not possible anymore. Things have changed, and each day it looks like our family is getting even more distant._

 _If only Hayate talked to me..._

 _But, hey, I guess life is just like this. Soon, we will have moved on, and we will be a happy family once again._

 _Taki... Keep watching over us, okay?_

 _Now, I must leave._

 _I"m sorry Dear Diary, but I don"t think I will ever write here again. After all, I"m already 13 years old! It"s time to stop with my stupid fantasies._

 _With this being said, goodbye my Dear Diary. You are very special for me, and I"ll make sure to take good care of you from now on._

 _Because you always took care of me._

 _Goodbye_

 _Akane~_

You: Akane... I"m so sorry...

This is all my fault... I shouldn"t have... I...

I"m sorry.

You knew that you were going to get in trouble if she found that you had read that. With a thoughtful look on your face, you grabbed the book and hid it once again.

You:Now... _Wiping his tears_ Let"s find that game!

 **CHAPTER 4 - Link Start!**

2022, December, 6 ; 4:06pm

You: Finally...

For some reason the game was under her bed.

You: Why did she hide it if she wanted me to play?!

With a deep breath to recover your energy, you looked at the cover for a while.

You: Sword Art Online huh...

You also looked at the instruction manual, where they explained how to use NerveGear correctly. It was actually simple despite everything the TV said about it.

Staring at the game, there you were... Wondering if it was that good as the beta players said it was.

You: Should I... Play it?

«Aoi: YOU SHOULD PLAY IT TOO!»

«Akane: You should try it too Hayate»

You: Both of them wanted me to play it... I don"t know why, but I think that this is somehow related to Takashi. How many times do I need to tell them that I have moved on already...

Yeah, I always have nightmares, but I was always like that. A coward. Why having so many expectations on me?!

Realizing that you were starting to think too much, you gave up on your thoughts and decided to follow your instincts.

You: Akane has been doing a lot for me... For our family. I think I should do something for her too.

Without thinking you put the NerveGear on, and, you pronounced the words.

You: Link Start!


End file.
